Rangers Vs. Senators Recap: McDonagh, Brassard Lead Rangers Past Senators 4-1
The New York Rangers defeated the Ottawa Senators tonight by a final score of 4-1, and finally got back into the win column.
After playing some questionable hockey over the last several games, the New York Rangers got back into the win column with a convincing 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Both Derick Brassard and Ryan McDonagh led the way for the Rangers tonight as the two of them combined for five total points. Henrik Lundqvist also had another monster game in between the pipes, which included a beautiful glove save on Dave Dziurzynski in the third period.
The Rangers came out flying in this game early on, and as a result, they drew two consecutive penalties on the Ottawa Senators. One of which was a bench minor call on Ottawa coach Dave Cameron, who took things a little too far after a missed boarding call on Tanner Glass. With two power play opportunities in hand, the Rangers made the most of their opportunities and converted on both of them.
The first goal came courtesy of Ryan McDonagh, who stepped into an absolute bomb of a shot, and wired the puck past Craig Anderson's left shoulder. Chris Kreider did an excellent job in front of the net to provide the screen, and Keith Yandle's setup to create space was even prettier. Shortly after the first goal, the Rangers converted once again on the power play, and this time around it was Derick Brassard.
Ryan McDonagh picked up the primary assist on the goal after tossing a low shot on net, which allowed for an easy deflection from Brassard. Anderson was unable to react to the puck after it changed direction, and the Rangers took a commanding 2-0 leading into the intermission. Ottawa made things interesting just six minutes into the second period, as Marc Methot's point shot somehow found a way through Henrik Lundqvist.
The puck appeared to take a slight deflection off of Marc Staal's stick as he went to block the shot, and it was just enough to fool Lundqvist. With the Rangers coming out in the third period holding onto a 3-1 lead, they handed the Senators their lunch with probably their best period of the season. The Rangers were able to hold the Senators to just a mere 3 shots on goal in the final 20 minutes, and also added two goals in the process.
Derick Brassard registered his second goal of the game just eight seconds past the midway point, and unleashed a bomb of a slap shot just inside the faceoff circle. Anderson was just barely off his angle enough to give Brassard some space, and he hit the target. That goal gave the Rangers the insurance they were looking for, and Jesper Fast capped the game off with the empty net goal at the 18:29 mark.
The Senators weren't able to get much of anything in the closing minutes, and the Rangers hung on to earn a pretty convincing 4-1 win. In terms of execution, this game was exactly what the Rangers needed to get back on track, and it will give them some much needed confidence moving forward. It came just in time too, with the Rangers heading out on a Western Canada road trip starting on Wednesday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
